Ok, so the pricing and equipment for the 320i is great. I'd like some other interior color besides black or beige, but I could live with black. So then I went to check out the specs on the thing. Well, it gets the same exact fuel economy as the 328i and the price comes to about $1500 less than a similarly spec'd (the gizmos, not necessarily the packages) base 328i.

Am I the only one in the world that thinks folks buying $45K cars wouldn't bother to save $1500 just to get some inconsequential stuff (i.e., they do nothing for the car's resale value) and less performance? And God forbid a potential buyer be content with leatherette seats, which in numerous posts have been noted to be very nice and to one's hand/butt indistinguishable from the leather. seats, for then the two cards come in at the same price.

I know everyone has their own set of values, but really, BMW. $1500 for some computer programming, heated seats that may just rarely get sat on (I get that for some folks this may be handy, but really, how long has it taken in all your past years for the seats to become comfortable once you've sat down on them, even if they were initially cold?), and an expensive replacement for gloves and the trade off in performance with no greater efficiency?

Anyway, the pricing on the 320i seems, like that on the 6 Gran Coupe, to be another example of BMW's having lost their minds. The 320i would make sense to me if it came equipped as I'm suggesting for $40K - $41K.

It may just be me. But I always consider the sum of money I would have to spend and what I would get for it and what the alternatives would be and what I'd give up in money or features between the various cars under consideration. Sure, I'm willing to sped $40K or $50K or even $80K, for my next car, and maybe that's why the 320i isn't making sense to me. I can see that one can get a 320I with some gizmos on it and still drive off the lot for $35K, and that would be all but impossible to do in a 328i. And I can respect folks that only want to spend $35K for a car; no issue there. But I for one would feel ripped off if I were to spend $45K on the 320i.